Microsoft: Vista Could Be a Windfall for NJ/NY VARs

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Within its first year of shipment, Windows Vista is expected to make 4.7 million computers its home, drive 21,000 new IT jobs and generate $9.5 billion in New York and New Jersey, according to a new IDC report.

Within its first year of shipment, Windows Vista is expected to make 4.7 million computers its home, drive 21,000 new IT jobs and generate $9.5 billion in New York and New Jersey, according to an IDC report commissioned by Microsoft, released Jan. 16.

Vista's impact on the market will reach far beyond Microsoft, the study asserts, driving growth and revenue for the 1 million companies worldwide that sell hardware, write software, provide IT services or serve as distribution channels.

As many as 16,000 IT companies in New York and 8,000 in New Jersey are expected to produce, sell or distribute products containing Windows Vista, according to the study, employing more than 45,000 and 20,000 people respectively.

Meanwhile, an additional 88,000 in New York and 33,000 in New Jersey are expected to be employed at IT-using firms, from installing, servicing and supporting Vista to designing, installing, servicing and supporting software that will work with it.

The study argues that the ecosystem built around Vista will involve 260,000 workers in New York, 100,000 in New Jersey, bringing Vista-related employment to 17 percent of the IT workforce in its first year of shipment.

"To tell you the truth, those numbers may be inflated, but I don't think by much. I expect the adoption rate of Vista to be fairly good in most markets around the country, but I expect New York to be among the highest. I think the features around security, mobility and efficiency are far too compelling to pass up in this type of economy. At the same time, there is no doubt that complementary products and platforms will have to keep up," David Tan, CTO of Chips Computer Consulting in Lake Success, N.Y., told eWEEK.

Noting that some of this Vista-related employment will actually be shifted from XP-related employment, the study clarifies that it's actually the growth in IT employment, services and revenues that will be fueled by the newly released OS. Vista-related employment is expected to jump by 16,000 jobs in New York and 5,000 in New Jersey.

The ecosystem beyond Microsoft stands to make more than $19 in revenues in New York and $21 in New Jersey for every dollar spent of Microsoft revenue from Vista. The study expects that the revolving around services related to Vista will sell more than $9.5 billion in products in New York and New Jersey combined in 2007.

"We use several applications in-house that are not yet Vista-ready, and it is becoming a major problem. No way can we wait 12 months for upgraded product releases. I think the efforts it will take to enhance these products, coupled with the training, deployment and hardware refresh revenues will make this a very solid year for the IT sector in New York particularly. Fortunately, it is coinciding with an IT market that has been rising the last few years anyway, so we are excited for the possibilities," said Tan.

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